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NB Siskin


Steve Goddard

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Simon thinks I’m part time at the moment :blush: . Small matter of making a quid is getting in the way of the important things (building my boat). Ah well needs must.

 

06012011513-300x225.jpgBy the time I got to the yard Simon had nearly finished the guard he had started yesterday and was working along it finishing the welding.

 

In a repeat of many other blog entries I follow along behind cleaning up the tacks and blobs used to hold the weld on clamps and brackets in place. It’s really not one of those jobs which a: give you any satisfaction and b: make you wish that you had a career as a tack weld dresser :P . The mornings travail is interuppted by the arrival of Santa in the shape of 06012011511-225x300.jpgRoy who has brought a load of goodies :rolleyes: . They include the rudder posts complete with ram’s head squares, rudder cups and the rams head themselves looking suspiciously straight. When challenged Simon says “we’ll just bend them no problem”. This stuff is 2″ dia solid bar and the Z bends are 315° so I await this part of the build with considerable interest. The real prezzie though is the rudder bearing, based on a proper Northwich design and with a bronze bush set in to make a06012011512-225x300.jpg nice smooth tiller it is just drop dead gorgeous. Much as I want to put all this stuff together now it has to go in the drawer and wait till we’re ready for it.

 

After lunch Simon is still working on the guard and I decide to put a few more washers on (well you do don’t you). Horror of horrors we’re running out of washers. Simon has ordered some more but on inspection they are thinner, larger in diameter and plated despite giving the sales rep a sample of the ones we use. These simply can’t be used. A quick phone call to an alternate supplier confirms that he has 300 of the correct washers in stock. Result we need 1000 but some are better than none. Ten minutes later he rings back to say “Sorry they were reserved for somebody else. There are no more in the country and the earliest we can get them is April”. For goodness sake they are plain washers not some sort of exotic special. I’m off tomorrow to find an acceptable alternative. If I can’t find some it could be a real crimp in the proceedings.

 

Simon is still working on the guards so I drag out the MIG and pop 40 or so washers on and we’re still nowhere near the counter round. By the time I’ve welded them on and dresser them down it’s dark and time to pack up. Simon has finished the guard, marked out the position of the next one and prepared it ready to go on. That sounds like a monday job to me :rolleyes:

 

 

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... The real prezzie though is the rudder bearing, based on a proper Northwich design and with a bronze bush set in to make a06012011512-225x300.jpg nice smooth tiller it is just drop dead gorgeous. ...

I have to ask. If it's a plain steel bar going through that bush, what are you going to lubricate it with (and how will you make sure the lubrication covers the full length of the bush)? I ask because I have visions of a rusty steel shaft just ripping that bearing to pieces, and that would be a shame, so the lubricant has to be VERY resistant to being washed away with water, either from below or above.

 

Perhaps you have visions of a stern tube lubricator plumbed to the bearing, with a turn of the handle as part of your starting procedure?

 

Sorry to interrupt your progress posts :-)

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It always seems to happen doesn’t it when things just keep going awry. Chris managed to pick up a screw in one of her tyres over the weekend (not one of mine I hasten to add) so I spent the whole of the morning finding and getting fitted a couple of new tyres on her car. In consequence it was just before lunch when I actually got to the yard. I suppose I should think myself lucky at least the tyres were not as expensive as the ones that the farmer who came into the tyre shop had to pay for. Front tyres for his Fastrac £780 + vat each icon_sad.gif ouch.

 

10012011516-300x225.jpg

 

When I got to the yard Simon had got the middle guard in place and tacked on and was just starting to weld it up. While he’s working on one side I dress up the welds on the top guard on the opposite side and in perfect synchronisation we swap sides and carry on :rolleyes: . A quick coat of two pack and the top guard is looking nice.

 

Simon still has miles of welds to do on the guard that is already on without even thinking about the others that still have to be fitted so he continues sorting those out and I decide to finish off the port side washers.

 

10012011517-225x300.jpgI’m having all sorts of issues with the MIG as the wind is very strong and gusty so it keeps blowing the shield gas away resulting in porous welds and a pissed off Steve :angry: A quick rummage around finds a little piece of ply and some 2 x 2 and with a couple of wood screws we have a nitfy little wind break. It’s not ideal but it does stop the worst of the wind so I can at least get the washers welded on ready for dressing up tomorrow.

 

10012011518-300x225.jpgAlthough we have got lights in the building plus movable ones you really can’t do any precision work once the daylight has gone so it’s the ideal opportunity to have a bit of a tidy up and get things sorted for (hopefully) an early start tomorrow.

 

 

 

I have to ask. If it's a plain steel bar going through that bush, what are you going to lubricate it with (and how will you make sure the lubrication covers the full length of the bush)? I ask because I have visions of a rusty steel shaft just ripping that bearing to pieces, and that would be a shame, so the lubricant has to be VERY resistant to being washed away with water, either from below or above.

 

Perhaps you have visions of a stern tube lubricator plumbed to the bearing, with a turn of the handle as part of your starting procedure?

 

Sorry to interrupt your progress posts :-)

 

 

David

 

Plan is to plate the top of the rudder post, and prop shaft (not certain yet what type, possibly Electroless Nickle, possibly TriCem still have some work to do on that) which will stop corrosion on the shaft. K99 or similar grease will sort out the greasing. I reckon a good greasing will last at least a month ;)

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A two day entry today. Lots of things happened to stop me updating the blog last night.

 

Tuesday. Not a bad day weather-wise so we could actually get some work done. Simon still has his head down round the stern fitting the top guards and welding the top and bottom of all the miles of guards already on. I finish off the washers I welded on on Monday and then Mark and I make a start on the bow11012011519-300x225.jpg, cleaning off any crap and sorting out any rusty bits prior to getting the second coat of two pack primer on. The intention is to get the first coat of two pack blacking on down to the 1st / 2nd butt strap past the tug deck. The majority of the paint is in remarkably good nick considering the hammering it has got which bodes well for the future :rolleyes: but some of the deck is a bit worse for wear so we decide to take it all back to bare metal which is not a really big deal with a linishing pad on the 9″ grinder. The wind is quite strong so the initial dry of the paint is quite quick which is good as the weather does not look settled. Rather than risk getting all the new paint ruined if it rains as forecast I nip down to B&Q and pick up a cheap tarp to cover the fore end. A couple of bits of scrap box welded to the braces across the hull and a “washing line” at their tops 12012011522-300x225.jpgand we soon have the front of the boat cocconed. Not exactly traditional cloths but it will work. :rolleyes:

 

Wednesday

 

Good job we wrapped the boat up as it absolutely pissed down overnight and basically it continues to drizzle all day long which stops Mark and I from getting the first coat of black on :( . I suppose that this is one of the disadvantages of building outside (there are lots of advantages as well). I spend the majority of the day dressing up the welds on the guards and removing a new crop of tack welds which seem to have grown up overnight like mushrooms :o . Simon gets the top guard tacked int place and finishes all the welds on the other guards. I think we are getting so that we can see the end of sorting guards, just the top guard to weld and a couple of short (ish) bottom guards to go on. I clean up all round the counter and Mark gets a coat of two pack on which makes the stern look a whole lot better.

 

The weather forecast for tomorrow is not to good e3ither so I really don’t know when we’ll be able to sort the blacking out. Oh well…… :(

 

 

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Bit of a disappointment today. The weather forecast was meant to be really good and I had great plans to get the first coat of black on the fore end but this morning was miserable. Damp dark and dismal. Decided instead to try and finish off all of the rivets on the hull. There were about 40 which I had put on last week which needed linishing and another 171 to finish off the stbd. side. The linishing took about an hour (Im definitely getting quicker) and the new ones took the rest of the day just to weld on so I guess that there is nearly another days work to get them linished off. The good thing now is that once I have finished these that will be it for a while. The bad news is I still have to finish these :( .17012011527-300x225.jpgSimon is still plugging away at the guards and soon has the last remaining bit of guard tacked into place. Its then just weld weld weld weld. I think by the end of the day though we have got to a stage where we can see the end. hooray. :rolleyes: . One thing I really am learning is that some of these things just take an awful long time to finish.17012011528-300x225.jpg

 

At the end of the day just to fill in the last few mins (and I suspect to see some new progress) Simon lines up the rudder post and welds on the rudder cup. Blimey the post is heavy :( . I reckon it weighs at least 30kg. By the time the rams head and rudder are on were going to be close to 80 90 kg which will be a struggle if I ever have to lift it back into the cup. Better have two weetabix for breakfast then :P~

 

The outlook for the week is dry at least so fingers crossed I hope we have the hull done by Friday :rolleyes:

Edited by Steve Goddard
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19012011532-300x225.jpg[There's nothing Simon can do on the hull today as whats left is up to me so he camps out in the workshop and keeps working on the rudder. One thing is for certain it's not going to break easily as it's made of 10mm plate with two 6 mm top plates and some 60 x 12 bottom stiffeners. The thing weighs a ton :rolleyes:

 

I'm back on the last bit of the stbd. side got the last 40 washers to linish off, linish off the mill scale on the guards, tidy up a couple of feet of weld underneath the middle guard and get a coat of paint on the lot. Should be able to get that done today even allowing for the fact that Tortega is being craned back in today and that may hold us up. Before I can start on that though Simon wants me to get some blacking on part of the rudder post and the rudder tube. The first blacking ot go on Siskin :rolleyes:Another first. OK it's only about a teacup full but it's a start :D19012011530-300x225.jpg. Got a little bit left over so give the skeg a quick coat as well :rolleyes: . The weather is great, bright, sunny and quite warm (so it seems anyway) it's really pleasant being outside and stuff just gets done.19012011531-300x225.jpg Siskin also looks really good in the sunshine with her new coat of paint.

 

In order to get the crane in to lift Tortega all the skips at the stern of Siskin have to be moved and for the first time we can actually stand back and get a good look19012011533-300x225.jpg at Siskins lines and I'm really happy with them :)

 

By about 4:00 I've got all the stuff done and a coat of paint on. Hooray finished at last :rolleyes::D:rolleyes:. Simon has finished the rudder blade so we decide to get the rudder on. A couple of little tags to position the bottom of the rudder and a rope through the eye to hold the top in place Simon gets a couple of little tack welds so that we can measure it up to make certain that it is straight and central and a little adjustment gets it right. Simon starts to weld it up and I head off to mix up some two pack so we can get it painted.19012011540-300x225.jpg

 

While I'm waiting for Simon to finish welding the rudder on I'm sitting looking at the side of the boat and I see that I missed dressing up the weld under the guard sh1t :mellow: . Oh well it's not much to do so I'll sort it out before I get the blacking on. Such is life

Edited by Steve Goddard
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Great Job Steve,

 

I must say that I really admire what you and the other guys have been able to do, and not letting the winter temperatures stop you from progressing.

 

Looking forward to see the next stage.

 

Peter.

 

 

Peter

 

Thanks . I now know that it is better to build a boat starting in Spring if you are doing it outside :) however although the weather has slowed us down we have only really lost one day.

 

Just learned that the steel for the cabin and roof come next week so it will be all habds to the pumps again.

 

Steve

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Hi Steve,

 

it's easy to believe that you think it's better to start building a boat in spring, but it's for sure that if you manage to do what you're doing now and have done in the cold, that you've made yourself much more resistant to colds and other winter illnesses, then if you would have spend that time sitting in front of a lovely nice and warm fireplace.

 

Please keep your stories and photographs of your building progress comming.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter.

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So much for the BBC weather forecast. Today was supposed to be dry but overcast. Ha bloody Ha :mad: it drizzled all day long :( . That really put the kibosh on getting any black on the outside.

 

25012011544-300x225.jpgSimon carried on fitting the front engine room bulkhead and the two engine bearers. They look very tall and very wide but they will fit the engine. I reckon Ive got room for 2 x 56gal fuel tanks at the side so that should be sufficient. Hopefully well be able to afford to fill them although I may have to sell the kids to do so. :rolleyes:

 

I made a start on cleaning up under the counter and around the inside of the swims getting them ready for the final coats of paint. This is were forward planning plays a big part as a: I missed a couple of weld tacks that need to be cleaned off and b: I need to get some tags under the counter to allow me to batten up for a plywood floor. Problem is that both of these activities £^!* up the paint on the outside of the hull so now I have to fix that as well. :(:blush:

 

We soldier on during the day and by 3:00 Im ready to start painting so we decide to have a quick cuppa and then I can still finish before it gets too dark. Before we even get a chance 25012011545-300x225.jpgto drink the tea the lorry with the steel for the cabin turns up. By now its pouring down and of course the steel for the cabins is pickled and oiled so sitting out for too long in the rain is not a good idea so its drop everything and reorganise under the back of the boat so the steel can be stored there out of the wet. By the time we have done that the back of the boat is wringing wet as weve had the building rolled back and there is no hope whatsoever of doing any painting today.

 

Its really frustrating at the moment, I just need a couple of good dry, warm days to get the outside of the hull sorted but it is not happening. Maybe tomorrow

Edited by Steve Goddard
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I've just found your blog. I wish you had done it and posted such a detailed progress report BEFORE I had started to build my boat. I could have saved lots of mistakes! Its looking great. Hope the weather continues to stay milder. I remember well how cold it was when building mine (over 2 winters!)

Mike

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Wednesday starts cold and miserable (again). There is simply no point in even thinking about putting black on the hull in these conditions so the first job is to get primer on the area under the counter and around the swims that I cleaned off so meticulously on Tuesday. Painting under the counter is like sticking your head in a paint tin and breathing deeply :rolleyes: . Great if you like solvent abuse but not so good if you want to get the job done.

 

The morning however brings a nice surprise. Colin an old school friend who lives in the States turns up at the yard. He has been reading the blog and was over in the UK so decided to come have a look first hand :). It was great just catching up and shooting the breeze. I showed him over some of the other boats so he got a crash course in narrowboats. :rolleyes: . Hopefully he can get over when Siskin is on the cut and we can go boating.

 

Its amazing how long it takes to paint all under the counter and round the swims and its the end of the day before Ive finished.

 

Simon in the meantime has been getting the engine beds tacked into place complete with the engine bearers and has also got the tank bearers in place by the end of the day so all in all not a bad day for progress.26012011549-300x225.jpg

 

Thursday starts off cold with a bitter wind so its back under the building and carry on with getting a gloss coat on the counter and swims. Before I start that however I measure up where the engine is going to go as Simon is going top put a strengthening x member between the beds. When the engine is marked out on the bearers it becomes clear that there is a big (usable) space in front of the engine between the bearers and a quick measure shows that it would be possible to get four batteries under there :rolleyes: good stuff. Simon and I chat about what we would need to do in the way of steel work and he suggest I have a quick chat with David to make certain we are not storing up BSS issues. The answer is not quite what I wanted to hear. There is no issues putting the batteries there BUT The engine room in Siskin is deemed to be part of the accommodation and because of this ordinary lead acid batteries can not vent into the engine room but must be ducted to the outside. The alternative is to use AGM or Gel batteries which are fully sealed. It seems to get worse are well. If you have a very large alternator (which I do 170A @ 24v) then the venting has to be forced. This is a really pain. I think I can get a vent in which wont look to horrendous or Im going to have to spend a heap of money on AGMs :blush:

 

I knock up the little bulkhead for the batteries and then its back under the counter and paint red gloss over red primer in a dark space with lots of fumes. What jolly fun we have :rolleyes: :rolleyes:27012011552-300x225.jpg However by the middle of the afternoon its finished an looks a whole lot better for it.

 

Simon has fitted the x member which is 10mm plate and is working his way around double seam welding all the joints to ensure that the bulkheads and beds are all water / oil / diesel tight. 27012011551-225x300.jpg I must say that by the end of the day the engine room is looking very nice indeed. Hopefully next week the weather will give us a break and we can get on with the outside of the boat.

 

I've just found your blog. I wish you had done it and posted such a detailed progress report BEFORE I had started to build my boat. I could have saved lots of mistakes! Its looking great. Hope the weather continues to stay milder. I remember well how cold it was when building mine (over 2 winters!)

Mike

 

Mike

 

you look as if you are steaming ahead now and it's looking really nice. Where DID you find your ballast.

 

I'll keep an eye on your web site so I can see how you are fitting out the inside. As you say somebodyelses experience helps to avoid mistakes :)

 

Steve

Edited by Steve Goddard
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There is no issues putting the batteries there BUT…… The engine room in Siskin is deemed to be part of the accommodation and because of this ordinary lead acid batteries can not vent into the engine room but must be ducted to the outside.

Are you sure about this? I have ordinary wet batteries under the floor in a "proper" engineroom and have never had any grief from BSS inspectors. Every other be-engineroomed boat I know of has similar arrangements.

 

MP.

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Are you sure about this? I have ordinary wet batteries under the floor in a "proper" engineroom and have never had any grief from BSS inspectors. Every other be-engineroomed boat I know of has similar arrangements.

 

MP.

 

ISO 10133 Extra low votage dc installations

 

Section 2.5 Batteries

 

2.5.1 Batteries shall be permanently installed in a dry, ventilated location above anticipated bilge water leve. (See guidance notes:- Section 2.5 iv. & v.)

 

Guidance notes:

 

2.5.iv Batteries connected to a charging device with a power output of more than 2kW (Steve - x=2) should be installed in a compartment assigned to batteries only and should be ventilated by mechanical exhuast (i.e fan assisted)

 

2.5.v Bateries should not be installed in accomodation areas unless the battery box is sealed and fitted with ventilating trunking to outside the craft.....

 

Not required for BSS compliance but if you are building to the RCD.

 

Is an engine room in a traditional arrangement (back cabin/engine room/rest of cabin) with doors either end part of the accomodation areas? Discuss....or preferably not as it's late and I'm going for a beer.

 

David

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Tuesday: The day started quite well with the weather warm if a bit damp. Simon launched straight into the stern bulkheads and I get my head down in the bilges again for the morning xylene fix and get a second coat of primer on the engine room. As always the second coat goes on a bit quicker and always looks so much better. :rolleyes:

 

Next little job is to finish off the rudder block. My mate Jim took the original square block and milled it to a diamond shape.01022011556-300x225.jpgI need to tidy up the corners and square off the back. A few mins with the 9″ grinder and a linishing disk gets it to the shape we want and a quick coat of paint finishes the job.

 

While still in the painting mood I decide to get a coat of gloss on the foredeck and the tug deck to get some decent weatherproofing on them. Up on the deck its really warm as the sun has come out. I end up shedding layers and still am sweating. Theres just no justice is there. With the coat of paint on 01022011560-225x300.jpgthe front looks very shiny :)

 

Simon has the back bulkheads up and tacked in place and although they still need to be cut to height you can get an idea of the shape of the cabin. It is just so nice to be seeing new steel going into place :)01022011558-300x225.jpg

 

After lunch I give Simon a hand to lift up the front bulkhead into place and get it tacked so that it is safe and then clear around the hull as Mark and I are going to start blacking after tea.

 

By the end of the day Simon has the rear bulkhead in place and Mark and I have got a considerable amount of blacking in place on both sides of the boat. 01022011563-300x225.jpgIts amazing the difference a decent day brings. :rolleyes:

 

01022011561-300x225.jpg

 

Wednesday

 

After yesterdays brilliant weather today was a bit of a downer. It was just drab and drizzly all day long so it precluded doing any more blacking. Even the stuff we did yesterday is showing some water marking on it. Good job its only the first coat.

 

I did get a coat of gloss on the engine room which is good as it means we can now put our muddy footprints all over nice clean paint :blush:

 

For some bizzare reason my phone just keeps ringing and ringing today. I must have spent a couple of hours on the damn thing. I know that Richard Branson started Virgin records off a narrowboat but Siskin is not the ideal environment to use as an office at the moment.

 

Simon and I have a long discussion on the design of the front bulkhead. The stern bulkhead and engine room bulkheads are as per the original but of course that doesnt hold for the front cabin :rolleyes:. We have a stroke of luck in that the 1m plates we have bought for the cabin sides actually turn out to be 40″ high so it gives us a bit more latitude to play around. At the end of the exercise we have decided that we will increase the tumblehome on each front bulkhead by 1/2″, let the cabin side climb by about 3/4″ over 6′ and put a 25″ door in. I think the end result will be a nice subtle set of curves which will match Siskins hull lines. We;ll see :rolleyes:

 

020220115651-300x225.jpgAfter deciding on the shapes they need to be cut out, the plank lines ground in and get them up and lined up. When they are up I get a quick coat of primer on the ground lines so that they wont go rusty.

 

At least now I can stand on Siskins stern and see what the final view will look like :)

 

The weather forecast tomorrow is supposed to be better so hopefully we can finish blacking :rolleyes:

Edited by Steve Goddard
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Early start this morning to get the engine over to the yard before the traffic gets busy/the rain starts/the wind blows etc. You really feel the weight of the engine (I reckon over a ton as the engine is all cast iron) behind the car especially when the car is not warmed up. Still nice and steady sees us over to the yard and the engine ready to come off the trailer by 8:3007022011574-300x225.jpg. Simon is starting on the engine room side sheets first thing so we just reef the engine off and sheet it up in case it rains as I have another mission while I have the trailer on board. Im off to a scrapyard up north to get some diamond plate for the engine room floors. All the original boats had diamond pattern plate rather than durbar plate floors. For some reason you cant seem to buy new diamond plate in the UK anymore. The last lot that Simon got was from France and thats a bit far to go today.07022011575-300x225.jpg The yard has a heap of plate in reasonable sizes and mega thick (around 3/8″) and as you are buying it at scrap prices plus it works out really reasonable and a little bit of work with a wire brush will see us right. By the time I had got the plate that I wanted plus the plate that Simon and Steve wanted Ive got 3/4 of a ton on the trailer :o. Back to the yard just in time for a cup of tea :rolleyes: brilliant timing. I now have two sheets of durbar plate going cheap if anybody is interested :rolleyes:

 

07022011576-300x225.jpgNext job is to lift the engine in. With a chain hoist on a beam across the forks and a couple of straps we get the engine lifting nice and straight. With Dave on the forklift, Mark and Simon in the boat and me on the outside taking pikkies :D07022011577-300x225.jpg. The lift goes really well and the engine is lowered down onto the beds. Well nearly onto the beds as the bottom bolts on the rear engine mounts get in the way. :( These are soon taken off and the engine goes down a little bit further only to foul on the bell housing. A quick touch with the plasma sees a couple of clearance slots for the bell housing and one for the dynamo mounting bolt and the engine drop down as sweet as you like on the 07022011578-300x225.jpgbeds. The size and positioning is just great, there is enough space at the back to get round and more than enough space at the fron for the batteries etc :rolleyes: whoopieThe original intention was to have wooden bearers and Rex and I had made some nice Iroko bearers but in order to keep the back cabin floor as low as possible we had a change of plan and are either: a-going to bolt the engine direct to the beds or b-put some vibration insulating blocks under the feet if I can source the right 07022011582-225x300.jpgones. What little is left of the day is spent unloading the trailer, clearing away, sheeting the engine up and generally getting ready for tomorrow. Another great day :D

Edited by Steve Goddard
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Let get the weather out of the way straight away. It was absolutely brilliant, a warm spring like day with lots of sun and no wind. I had to constantly peel off layers and was down to 2 at one stage. Oh for another two weeks like this :rolleyes:

 

08022011583-225x300.jpgWe started off by stringing the lines for the main cabin sides. The stbd. side was just perfect. The string line perfectly parallel with the gunwale. You would need a micrometer to measure any difference. The port side however shows the trials and tribulations that Simon has had wrestling the gunwales into shape with a difference of nearly 3mm from the ends to the middle. Its not significant and you wont see it in the end but the effort to get to that has been significant.08022011584-300x225.jpg

 

With the lines in place we turn to the back cabin main sheets. These are 4m x 1.5m pickled and oiled and guess who gets the job of cleaning all the oil off them :( . The big plus is its outside so Im not on some sort of solvent high by the time Ive finished. Getting them up is actually a pretty simple job. Weld an eye in the middle of one of the long sides of the plate. Pop the long forks on the forklift a strop and a shackle and away you go. All you may need to do is to swing the plate through 180 to get the curve the right way. A couple of little tags tacked onto the gunwale and a couple of mins later the plate is in place.08022011585-300x225.jpg The astute amongst you will note that I have gone for the high rise option :rolleyes: This is so that I can get a mezzanine in the :rolleyes: . The reality is that you cant get the rear cabin sides out of a 1m sheet because of the rise at the back. This leaves you with two options, add a small fillet (as per the bow and swims) or have a bigger sheet. Not wanting to try and get a perfect join its easier to go for the bigger plate and the excess at the top will go into the fuel tanks. Result ;) A little bit of cutting with the plasma sees the plate sitting on the top of the straight part of the gunwale and on the inside of the curved part of the gunwale. Its then out with the tags, chisels, hammers, wooden props etc. etc. to get the bottom of the sheet lined up correctly and tacked down. Im still amazed that you can literally shave 1mm off08022011586-300x225.jpg the edge of a sheet with the plasma and leave a perfectly good edge.

 

Its then just a simple matter of repeating the process for the second side which true to form goes up a lot quicker. End of the day we have two sides in place. Sure there is a lot more work to get them finished but its always nice to see big sheets going onto the boat.

Edited by Steve Goddard
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Got to the yard at lunchtime today having spent the morning banging my head against the brick wall which is local government bureaucracy in the planning department. Like all these things its really therapeutic (when you stop) >:( Oh well at least I can get on with the boat and forget about it for a little while.

 

09022011587-300x225.jpgWhen I arrived at the yard Lol was there delivering stern gear, plummer blocks and nice Northwich mushroom vents. The stern gear is a really massive bit of kit and looks as if it could have come from the Ark Royal :rolleyes: and although the vents are brass they paint up real well and look the business. Another bit of kit and another bill :(

Simon has spent some of the morning playing around with cabin roof lines to get them looking correct and has the first side marked up and ready to cut. A quick zip with the plasma and off comes the port fuel tank :)09022011590-300x225.jpgThe side needs a tiny bit of tidying up to remove some slight marks and the inevitable tack welds etc. It really is amazing how soft the pickled and oiled plate is in comparison to the shot-blasted and primed plate. We need to get 80 grit linishing disks so that we dont hurt the steel. The nice thing however is that it really doesnt take to much time to completely linish the side ready for a coat of primer09022011591-300x225.jpg. Siskin is starting to look like a proper working boat (well a bit shorter I know). :D

 

Theres just enough time before the light goes to get the other side marked up and cut off09022011594-300x225.jpg. Hopefully the weather will be kind tomorrow and we can get some more good progress.

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Ive not been able to get to the yard for a couple of days :( so Simon has been beavering away on his own. I managed to call in today before it got to dark and get a couple of pictures. Simon has certainly not been hanging around as all the cabin sides are up :D . The boat looks totally different and for the first time I can really get a good impression of the final shape of Siskin. Putting the cabin on has 15022011596-300x225.jpgreally brought the shape of the bow out and it really is going to look nice when it is finished.Hopefully tomorrow well be back to normal and I can get over to the yard and get on with it. Looking at the amount of plate thats up I reckon Ill be painting most of tomorrow. Still it keeps you out of the pub (remind me why that is a good thing)

 

 

 

Back to the yard ready and raring to go this morning. I know what Im on, its getting the sides painted :rolleyes: Simon is starting to mark out the stbd side top cut so I start to clean up the oil on the port side. Now I realise why Simon has decided to work on the stbd. side. Its in what little sun there is and its not to cold. The port side is in shadow and there is still ice on the plate. This coupled with the evaporative cooling caused by the thinners Im using to remove the oil on the plate soon has my hands feeling like lumps of ice :( . To add insult to injury the thinners also wreck the nitrile gloves I brought. What a great start to the day :( .

 

The good thing is that it does not take to long to get the plate reasonably clean. It will need another wipe over with a clean cloth and a quick rub with some sandpaper to provide a key but that can wait until Im ready to paint it. I end up giving Simon a hand to mark the cut line. Im really starting to understand how things work now and the importance of taking time to get things like this right. Its amazing how a very small change can make a big visual impact and so we play around with the line until we have one which works for us. The cabin line follows the gunwale from the front engine room bulkhead until 8′ front the front cabin bulkhead. It then rises faster than the gunwale so that by the time it gets to the bulkhead it has an additional 11/16″ lift. 16022011599-300x225.jpgIt may not sound much but it really does make a difference.

 

Simon gets the plasma going and the top is soon trimmed off. He moves over to the16022011600-300x225.jpgport side and I clean up the plate, scratch it up and get painting. Im getting much better at this and this time Ive got the paint at the right thickness / thinness a roller which is working properly and have finally got the technique right so that I get a nice even coat. It still takes a time to do a side as theres a lot of area to paint but as always it looks so much better with a coat of paint :D. When Simon has finished off the port side I get to do it all over again. What fun :)

Simon has moved on to making the master roof beam which will be used to check that all the others are the same. As there is not a lot I can do I wander over to Stella to get some tips from Rex on lining out a back cabin as hes just starting that one. I have to say Im really looking forward to getting working with wood again. ;)

 

Another couple of little things. Ive managed to get a pallet and a half of engineering brick seconds. There actually really good in that most of the faults seem to be slight surface cracks so they are perfect for ballast. As a pallet weighs approx one ton and cost £60 quid it seems pretty good value to me :rolleyes:

I think Ive also got a swap lined up for the prop. Richard who owns Snipe is looking for a 25 x 24 (which I have) and has a 25 x 18 (which I want). Hes said hell get his off and have it refurbed so it looks as if we could both be winners here. Now lets see, I have an original C&C prop and some original rivets. I wonder how much more I need before I can register Siskin as an historic boat :D

Edited by Steve Goddard
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  • 2 weeks later...

Well back to the yard today for the first time in what seems ages.The weather is not good and has not been good while I’ve been in Dublin so Simon struggled to get much done on Siskin. He has however got the first roof sheet in place and all the roof beams made as well as some other bits and bobs.

28022011605-300x225.jpgSimon’s starting off on the back cabin sheets getting them tight to the gunwales as that is under cover and I’m going to clean off the mill scale on the rest of the cabin beams and get a wash of paint on them. The beams in the picture are for the front cabin, there’s another lot for the back cabin and engine room.

A digression on mill scale. :rolleyes: There’s a lot of discussion about mill scale going around and whether you need to bring steel back to bare before painting. I made the decision with Siskin to remove all mill scale and took Simon’s advice to go for shotblasted and primed paint for the hull and pickled and oiled plate for the cabin. A lot of the sections and a couple of the plates however were still mill scale and I have had the task of getting it off so my comments are based on first hand experience. First some mill scale really does stick like sh1t to a blanket and I would think that if you got primer to stick to this it would be as good as going to bare plate. However not ALL mill scale sticks like that and some only needs to be shown a linishing pad and it falls off. Second mill scale is actually quite thick and if you have a bit missing it will show though paint however well you think you have feathered the edge. Third mill scale cracks, if you bend or stress mill scale it cracks and loosens so you have no adhesion at all. Given all this my advice would be to get rid of all mill scale before painting either by using prepared plate or by shot blasting after the build is complete. End of digression tongue.gif

It continues to drizzle all day so the chance of getting any more done on the roof is zero, so Simon decides to start on the skin tank for the engine. You will remember in an earlier post that the skin tank is situated on the port side to the front of the swim. After a 28022011606-300x225.jpgdiscussion the skin tank is now located on the stbd. side to the rear of the swim :rolleyes: . Why I hear you ask? Well two things really. The first is that I intend to put the black water tank in the swim hard against the engine room bulkhead. This would make it difficult to get the fittings onto the skin tank if it was at the front of the swim. If I move the skin tank to the rear of the swim on the port side it’s under the range shelf and in the table cupboard both of which will make maintenance and fitting out horrendous. So the only logical place to bring it is to the rear of the stbd. swim simples :rolleyes: . Oh and I suddenly didn’t like the idea of a large heater right next to 100 gals of poo. It could well smell blush.gif

Simon lays out the internal baffles to ensure that we get a decent flow. The tank is 46″ x 25.5″ x 1.5″ which I reckon comes out at 6.3 28022011608-225x300.jpggals or thereabouts. The front plate is a bit that is left over from the uxter plates and it exactly the right size :rolleyes: See very little wastage. We mark out the plate and plasma it out. You can see from the picture that Simon has also chopped some little holes out as well. These line up with little tags I have cut out and which are welded onto the baffles. This mean that we can push the plate tight to the baffles and weld it on which will provide the proper labyrinth cooling. A couple of 1″ black iron fittings for the in and out and a 1/2″ for the bleed and we’re in business.

As I pack away I wonder why it is that every night I roll up the cables and get soaking wet gloves and why they are never dry come the morning. Just one of lifes little mysteries I guess :rolleyes:

Edited by Steve Goddard
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]01032011609-300x225.jpgDay starts damp, cold and miserable again. I've had enough of winter now. When does summer start? I start off tidying up the rudder block which has not fared to well in the weather. Fortunately it looks worse than it is. Simon tacks on the front of the 01032011610-300x225.jpgskin tank so that Dave can run the MiG round it. It doesn't take Dave too long and when we pressure test it there are just two little pin holes in the front which are simple to fix. Another pressure test and the job is finished. A quick clean up with a linishing disk and the job's done except for the painting.01032011611-300x225.jpg

Simon in the meantime has made a start on the next roof sheet. the roof beams are set up and tack welded at one end. Then working from one end Simon clamps them down and tacks them in place. The end result is a nice smooth roof sheet and all I need to do is clean off the waxoil on the top, linish up the swelling on the welds and get a coat of paint on it leaving a gap round the edge where the hand rails will get welded on. Simon marks a center line on the sheet which will be used to line them all up.

01032011612-225x300.jpgSimon's got a nice little lifting beam which gets tacked to the top of the sheet and with a strop it's an easy job to lift. A really nice little touch is that Simon clamps a bit of scrap onto one end of the sheet to ensure that it lifts level :rolleyes: .

01032011614-300x225.jpgWith me up on the gunwale Simon lifts the sheet up and I tuck the port edge inside the cabin side. It's the pretty simple then to tweak the other side into place and jog the sheet into place. By the end of the day we have the second sheet in place and a third ready to have the roof beams fitted01032011616-225x300.jpg. Siskin will soon be weatherproof (sort of) so I can really get down and sort out the inside and get it dry. A good day :rolleyes:

Wednesday:- First job this morning is to revisit the back cabin and finalise the position of the roof beams and scuppers. This is not as easy as it sounds because you have to work around all the bits and bobs which have to go on the roof i.e. bulls eye, vent, pigeon box etc etc and make certain that the scuppers line up with the panels on the back cabin sides all of which means some more advanced trigonometry chalked on the side of Siskin :rolleyes: . Pity I have not yet blacked this bit of Siskin as we could have had a proper blackboard then laugh.gif .

Simon makes a start on the next roof sheet and I decide that I'm going to clean out the inside. Inevitably the inside of Siskin gets full of crap from cutting, grinding and welding and there has been standing water inside for a few weeks now sad.gif . I spend a delightful hour sponging out the bulk of the water so that hopefully it will dry out properly over the next couple of days and then I can finish off inside as (hopefully) with the roof in place it will be weatherproof. By the end of this my hands are freezing and it's almost a pleasure to get them covered in thinners as I clean the oil off the next roof sheet prior to painting it.

Spent an hour or so looking for some decent portholes (GU or Yarwoods style) without a lot of success. Anybody know of a decent supplier?02032011618-225x300.jpg

By the end of the afternoon we have the final front cabin roof sheet finished and in place and the engine hole sheet welded up but needing a coat of paint on the top, so that's the first job tomorrow. Looks more like a complete boat standing on the counter :rolleyes: . Only one more sheet to make tomorrow but that is more complex but hopefully we'll have a roof by the end of the day.

Edited by Steve Goddard
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Thursday :Dear lord but it’s brass monkeys this morning. Dry but the wind just cuts through you. Simon and I are back to checking each other as it really is simple to make a mistake in the cold. We seem to have had a visit from the roof beam munching monster during the night as we can’t seem to find all the beams Simon made no matter how hard we look so I’m making up the shortfall while Simon starts on the back cabin roof sheet. This is a lot more complex than the others as we have to get the pull in and curve just right. We pop a couple of lines on the sheet with the aid of a stick then partake in the democratic process of asking everybody who walks past which one they prefer. Simple majority wins :rolleyes: . We’ve soon got the sheet plasma cut out and then its getting the planks marked out on the roof. Another quick conflab at the stern of Siskin and we have a plan. 03032011619-300x225.jpg

Simon gets on with grinding the plank lines in the roof and I pop off to the bank to pay John the deposit for the range. it really feels as it we’re hurtling along now.

After lunch we turn the back cabin sheet over, get the beams on and I get a coat of paint over everything which is not moving.

The day just seems to be flying past and we’re really pushing it to get the last two roof sheets on the boat while it’s still light but we just make it. :rolleyes:

Why is this a milestone day? These two sheets are the LAST big sheets to go onto Siskin. :cheers: After this it’s small stuff only (and yes I know there is a lot of small stuff )



Tuesday: Today was one of those spring days with warm sun and beautiful blue sky. It was absolutely wonderful to be working outside but it would have been even better to have been boating :rolleyes: . I’ve looked back at the blog and I’m getting worried. I seem to have an unnatural obsession with the weather. Is this an age thing? laugh.gif

08032011620-225x300.jpgSimon makes a start on lining up all of the roof sheets and making certain that the joints are all flat (can you use flat on a curved sheet, well I know what I mean). My first little job is to get the impeller off the water pump I’m looking at using for the secondary cooling circuit (the engine has a closed primary circuit and a heat exchanger to the skin tank circuit). It is an old 24v electric pump which seems to work OK but of course the rear seal is totally kaput. The impeller is held onto the motor shaft with a locking collet like a router but it has seized. A couple of wedges from knee offcuts do the job really well and it comes off without any damage. The big problem is however that the rubber seal and the carbon rubbing ring as no good. I’ll see if I can cobble something up but I have no real desire to put a pump under the back cabin floor that is not 100%. I may have to buy a new one sad.gif

08032011621-300x225.jpg

Simon’s still busy on the roof sheets and there’s not a lot I can do to help so I sort out the fender loops on the stern. These are simply chain links with one end cut off and fitted into a couple of holes drilled in the cant on the counter, not a big job but another little step done.

08032011623-225x300.jpgWe’re on short days this week because of other commitments but by the time we pack up we’ve got the roof sheets back to the back cabin joint sorted and I can stand and see what it will be like to steer Siskin.smile.gif

Edited by Steve Goddard
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... My first little job is ... the water pump I’m looking at using for the secondary cooling circuit ... The big problem is however that the rubber seal and the carbon rubbing ring as no good. I’ll see if I can cobble something up but I have no real desire to put a pump under the back cabin floor that is not 100%. I may have to buy a new one ...

I'm not sure I have a clear metal image of the problem, but part of the answer may be an SKF Speedi-sleeve.

I haven't used any, but I've read good reports from people who have.

My first Google to get the name correct seemed to pick up mainly USA suppliers, but I'm sure they are available in the UK. In your case a standard seal may no longer fit, so you will have to source one that does. If you manage to pick the 'right' seal specialist they should do both parts, but as locality can affect your choice it's probably best leaving that search to you, or another Forum reader may have direct experience.

 

Good Luck

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I'm not sure I have a clear metal image of the problem, but part of the answer may be an SKF Speedi-sleeve.

I haven't used any, but I've read good reports from people who have.

My first Google to get the name correct seemed to pick up mainly USA suppliers, but I'm sure they are available in the UK. In your case a standard seal may no longer fit, so you will have to source one that does. If you manage to pick the 'right' seal specialist they should do both parts, but as locality can affect your choice it's probably best leaving that search to you, or another Forum reader may have direct experience.

 

Good Luck

 

The seal is a little strange. If you imagine a bowler hat with the rim in steel and the crown in rubber with the shaft going through where your head would go. The carbon rubbing ring is just like a washer and is mounted underneath the rim. The rubber seals around the shaft and the carbon ring gives a seal around the face. All a bit complex but it is a very old pump. Big problem is although the pump has plates on it there is no manufacturers name so I'm a bit in the dark.

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The seal is a little strange. If you imagine a bowler hat with the rim in steel and the crown in rubber with the shaft going through where your head would go. The carbon rubbing ring is just like a washer and is mounted underneath the rim. The rubber seals around the shaft and the carbon ring gives a seal around the face. All a bit complex but it is a very old pump. Big problem is although the pump has plates on it there is no manufacturers name so I'm a bit in the dark.

 

Picture?

There may be proprietary seals which could be adapted to do the job, if the pump is worth the effort.

 

Tim

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